Starbucks matches profit expectations, tops revenue forecasts

Starbucks Corp. on Thursday reported fiscal first-quarter earnings of $983.1-million (U.S.).

On a per-share basis, the Seattle-based company said it had a profit of $1.30. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring gains, were 80 cents per share.

The results met Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was also for earnings of 80 cents per share.

The coffee chain posted revenue of $4.8-billion in the period, beating Street forecasts. Analysts expected $4.79-billion, according to Zacks.

For the current quarter ending in March, Starbucks expects its per-share earnings to range from 64 cents to 65 cents.

The company expects full-year earnings in the range of $3.09 to $3.13 per share.

Starbucks shares have risen roughly 1 per cent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has stayed nearly flat. In the final minutes of trading on Thursday, shares hit $82.66, an increase of 12 per cent in the past 12 months.